1) Write it out
Commandment 1 of 10xWrite: A Manifesto
This post is part of a series exploring my writing manifesto, 10xWrite1, outlined in my last post, System Error: New Operating System Required. In the following posts, I’ll share a creative work and then discuss how I wrote it out.
1) Write it out
Why
There is so much in life to process, to consider, to mull over. Writing it out externalises the swirling cosmos of my brain in a way that is productive and positive. Through writing it out I recognise what I know and I learn much about what I know sub-consciously. It is also about ACTION. Only thinking about it is inaction. Writing makes my thinking visible. I challenge myself to concretise my thinking, articulate it. It is also cathartic, a method of psychological lancing. If I do not write these things out, they fester inside of me. In my brain, in my heart. By writing them out, I release them. I release myself.
How
After a lifetime of masking and suppressing, I must give myself permission to write it out. I must believe in my right to have a voice. That I have something to say and that it matters, even if only to me. I am enough. Through writing it out, I give myself permission to go on a quest for my voice. To find my own way with compassion as my compass. Life is a labyrinth; I must be mindful of each step.
What
When I write different forms, I can write different things out. Manifesto-y writing gives me clarity around method and process. When I write fiction, the stories help carry the weight of my baggage for me. With poetry, it distils the swirl into nuggets of emotion that I can see or set on a shelf; if I’m lucky, I can share them. I also must not bind myself to form or genre in a way that becomes a barrier to writing it out. The most important thing is to WRITE IT OUT.
10xWrite: A Manifesto
1. Write it out
2. Write through the box
3. Write for me
4. Write for my reader
5. Write what I want
6. Write often enough
7. Write word vomit
8. Write art with a heart
9. Write as a rhizome
10. Write down to my bones